Reality cracked.
Geometric patterns splintered across the air as the Grand Breaker activated the terminus chamber's transfer field. The platform beneath them pulsed with alien energy, each surge tearing small holes in space itself.
Ancient crystals groaned under the pressure of warped physics, their structures straining against forces they were never meant to contain.
"Remarkable." The Grand Breaker's voice echoed from multiple directions. "Your fusion refuses to break. But this system..."
He gestured, intensifying the distortion.
"It was designed for far worse than you."
Maya's blade cut through the warped space, momentarily stabilizing the air around them. "Rhys! These patterns—they're from Aria's research!"
She spun to deflect an Elite Breaker's attack, her sword leaving trails of light through the twisted air.
"But something's wrong. They've corrupted it!"
---
[CRITICAL WARNING]
Fusion Integrity: 24%
Reality Anchor: FAILING
Wolf Pattern: UNSTABLE
---
The Nightmare Wolf's shadows thrashed against the growing distortions, its multiple states blurring at the edges of normal space. Through their connection, Rhys felt it—the Wolf recognized this danger.
Its shadows flared desperately, trying to shield them all as reality itself became a weapon.
*CRACK*
An Elite's blade carved through the space where Rhys had stood a heartbeat before. He rolled across the crystalline floor, fragments cutting into his palms as he channeled the Fox's agility.
One fluid motion.
The Serpent's precision guided his strike to the weak point in the attacker's armor.
Blood dripped from his nose as his dual fusion strained against the chamber's distortions. Each movement cost him more stability, more precious harmony between his impossible bonds.
"Transfer at 60%," an Elite announced, checking his gear. "Subject weakening."
His mechanical voice cut through the chaos.
"Shift begins at 75%."
Marina worked frantically at the crystal controls, her hands bleeding from the razor-sharp edges. "The Guild corrupted this technology! It was meant to protect people from dimensional collapse, not trap them!"
A blast of warped space knocked her away from the console.
*CRASH*
She hit the wall hard, crystals cracking beneath her impact.
"Like the Crimson Moon protected us?"
The Grand Breaker's laughter bent strangely through the folded air.
"Some threats must be contained. Some mistakes..."
His gaze fixed on Marina.
"Must be corrected."
The chamber erupted into chaos.
The Wolf's shadows clashed against harmonized sound waves while Maya's blade wove patterns of protective light. Marina's hands flew across crystal formations, trying to activate ancient defenses.
But the Elites moved with mechanical precision, their attacks perfectly calculated to tear apart impossible bonds.
Blood trickled from Rhys's nose as fragments of memory crashed through his mind—other prisoners, other "anomalies" trapped in crystalline spaces where dimension itself went wrong.
He saw their faces.
Their terror.
Their final moments before the transfer took them.
But underneath those memories pulsed older patterns, ones that made the Wolf's shadows writhe with ancient recognition.
"The old system's failing!" Marina dragged herself back to the controls, leaving smears of blood on the crystal surface. "They've changed too much! I can't—"
Her words cut off as space twisted around her, reality stretching like taffy.
"Full containment in thirty seconds," an Elite announced with mechanical precision. "Reality anchors at critical."
The chamber's distortions intensified. Maya's desperate attacks left trails of light that hung in the air like broken glass. The Wolf's shadows flickered between dimensions, its multiple fusion states creating impossible patterns in the transfer field.
Patterns that made the Grand Breaker's confidence falter for the first time.
---
[DIMENSIONAL ECHO]
Ancient Configuration Found
WARNING: Reality Breach Imminent
---
"Stop!"
Real fear crept into the Grand Breaker's voice as readings spiraled beyond control.
"Those shadow patterns—they're connecting to something! Check the containment field!"
But the Wolf wasn't fighting anymore.
Its shadows merged with paths that existed long before the Guild's interference, reaching through channels of power they had never understood.
Through their bond, Rhys finally grasped the terrible truth—and why the Guild was so desperate to keep it hidden.
"This wasn't built to trap fusion." Blood ran from his eyes as reality buckled. "It was built to protect it!"
His gaze met the Grand Breaker's, filled with newfound horror.
"And you... you turned it into a prison!"
The Wolf's shadows surged, wrapping around them all as ancient systems screamed back to life. Crystal formations exploded in chains of dimensional feedback. Elite Breakers scrambled for stability as their carefully calculated prison began to collapse.
"No!"
The Grand Breaker's hands moved in desperate patterns.
"The containment field—roll back the transfer! Roll it back now!"
Reality shattered.
The last thing Rhys saw was Marina's terrified understanding and Maya's reaching hand as the Wolf's shadows pulled them through.
His final conscious act was to grab them both, refusing to let either slip away as dimension itself broke apart.
Then they fell into something far worse than any prison.
They fell into the truth.